One of the state’s biggest biotech employers, Shire plc, has applied for European approval for its potential blockbuster eye drop to treat dry eye disease, sold by the name of Xiidra in the U.S. The drug, a twice-a-day eye drop that goes by the generic name of lifitegrast, was approved in the U.S. in August 2016. It’s touted as the “first and only” drug in the world to treat the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease, and competes head-to-head with Restasis, a similarly-priced drug sold by Allergan plc (AGN) that’s approved to increase tear production due to inflammation.